Another dentistry matinee. Enough Novocain to flatten a horse and I still felt the gouger. With every round, “maybe you need just a little bit more” (x4), a chance to “relax” while it kicked in. Relax and listen to the light chatter with the next patient who just got her Master’s in Biology, a black-belt in Tae Kwon Do and has beautiful, well-cared for teeth. I hate her. She talks of a ski trip and uses bad grammar. But even the bad grammar doesn’t stop me from hating her because she sounds like a morning person. I hate all morning people.. those jogging, detail-oriented, math-loving flossers. Hate them. And as I sat there it felt like there was an open window where my cheek and jaw should be. And yet as soon as the gouger made contact.. thrash. I’m told to come back in a week on Xanax. It's a palindrome at least.